Citation

McGarva AR, Ramsey M, Shear SA. J. Soc. Psychol. 2006; 146(2): 133-146.

Affiliation

Department of Teacher Education and Psychology, Dickinson State University, Dickinson, ND 58601, USA. andrew.mcgarva@dsu.nodak.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16673844

Abstract

Using 2 field procedures, the authors assessed impacts of cell-phone use on mild forms of driver aggression. Participants were 135 drivers traveling within a city of approximately 17,000 people in an otherwise little-populated region of western North Dakota. The authors videotaped the participants while a confederate driver in a low-status vehicle frustrated them. In Experiment 1, the confederate was traveling well under the posted speed limit. In Experiment 2, the confederate remained motionless at a stoplight that had turned green. When the confederate visibly talked on a hand-held cell phone (n = 67), male drivers exhibited their frustration by honking their horn more quickly and frequently than did drivers in no-cell-phone trials, and female drivers were more angry according to blind judgments of videotaped facial expressions that were compared with those of drivers in no-cell-phone trials (n = 68). The present results suggested that driver cell-phone use contributes to the growing crisis of roadway aggression.

Language: en